Barbara Becker Holstein
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein obtained her Ed.D from Boston University. She is a licensed psychologist in private practice in New Jersey and Massachusetts, with her husband Dr. Russell Holstein, also a psychologist. She specializes in positive psychology as well as other issues associated with girls and women.
EARLY YEARS
Early in her practice she realized that the medical disease that most therapists were using was insufficient to assist people in the treatment room. This medical model, which had been used for many years, focused on the problems the patient brings into the treatment room and attempts to fix them. She realized treatment should also focus on what is right about the patient as well as the patient's talents and strengths. She began to develop Workshop materials and treatment alternatives for helping people discover what was positive about themselves.
Several years before Positive Psychology had a formal title she was actively behaving as a Positive Psychologist, in her practice, in workshops and other ways such as media. The result was her first book, The Enchanted Self A Positive Therapy. This book well-received both publicly and by other psychologists. The book explains how to move away from the disease model towards what then came to become known as positive psychology. Her book written for therapists as well as women, is and easily understood book with many exercises as well as insights into what makes up finding and beginning to use one's full potential.
During the same early years her first website appeared. Called The Enchanted Self, it was one of the first websites focusing on women and their potential. All of the stories and exercises were designed to help women reach for that potential, find meaning in their lives as well as joy, happiness, and a sense of success. It is still in existence to this day. Throughout the years it has continued to offer inspiring stories, recipes for enchantment, interviews with women and girls, films, books, and much more.
As positive psychology is now established throughout the entire country, Dr. Holstein continuously develops more ways and techniques in positive psychology, utilizing the basic concepts she feels are most relevant. From the 1990s through 2015, these included radio shows, television appearances, newspaper articles, newsletters, all in pursuit of the written word.
Mid 2000's
In the mid-2000s she became a filmmaker. As an entrepreneur and a visionary, she developed a technique called Selfie films, in which the actor not only played a role, but would also do her own filming on a smartphone. Smartphones were not used in this way at this time When Dr. Holstein created and directed her first film, she saw smartphones as another entryway to an amazing world in which people of all backgrounds and educational levels could become filmmakers. Subject might include interviewing family members, catching something interesting where they lived, keeping a diary or just having fun with their phone. Dr. Holstein's films have appeared around the globe, in over 100 festivals, and have been regarded as a masterful way to engage with others to find common ground
In the last few years Dr. Holstein had another vision in which she realized that young people do not have enough voice - ways to express themselves, feel satisfied and to get in touch with their potential to change the world as opposed to just feeling rage, anxiety or disappointment. This resulted in an ongoing project called The Selfie Project. One component of the project is podcasts in which youngsters, as well as experts and parents, can offer insight, voice frustration, share successes based on issues that might be disturbing or uplifting. The Selfie Project has also gone around the world in festivals, and she now hopes to make it a series, in which young people can make their own selfies privately. This allows them an opportunity to be totally honest and then share those selfies with other teenagers, young people, and experts, so that the final result is a project with the potential for real change with experts and other participants in a roundtable format.
For two years the pandemic forced many of us into isolation. One of the ways Dr. Holstein helped to overcome the isolation was to begin to make take some scripts, originally written to be half-hour films, transforming them into something she calls Zoom dramas. In these filmed episodes, actors work from the comfort and safety of their own home and interact with other actors on the zoom platform. The drama's cover the conflicts and difficulties of relationships in the real world and are made available to the public.
She has been a contributor to Your Tango, Heart and Soul, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Honey Good, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Redbook, Real Simple, Women’s World, The Wall Street Journal, Psychcentral.com, Time online, the Today Show, multiple traditional media television, print and radio shows and Family Circle Magazine.
THE ENCHANTED SELF
THE ENCHANTED SELF as a breakthrough in treating patients in therapy. Joy is the re-invention of oneself in positive ways. Writing THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy gave her a chance to share with the public how psychology has spent too much time focusing on dysfunction, and what went wrong - often using memories to augment this focus. Mental health and a sense of joy more readily appear when we focus on the positive reinvention of ourselves. To do this a clinician and/or anyone can practice ways of using the past to access positive information - our lost potential, our dreams, our proud sense of the story of our lives. There are so many marvelous things about each and every person.
In her book, Dr Holstein teaches readers how to go about recovering the best of themselves. This paradigm shift, looking for the positive rather than the negative, results in happier psychotherapy, often shorter psychotherapy and a more educational therapy where the client really learns to recognize and develop her talents, strengths and what gives her pleasure. Dr. Holsteins is often thrilled and shocked when she realizes how much she is able to learn from her clients. They have wisdom, humor, coping skills, great abilities to nurture and love others, they survive incredible obstacles. I am so lucky to have been able to talk to so many wonderful people and get a chance to learn from them as hopefully they have been able to learn from her.
Seeing one's life as an experience of Enchantment - a chance to bring pleasure and joy into your life and those who you are with - is what writing and working on THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy has reinforced for Dr. Holstein. She hopes it is part of everyone's journey of growth and joy also.
She has chosen many pathways to help people move forward in retrieving their own paths to a bounteous life. One of those paths are books she has written:
These include:
BOOKS:
An inspirational book entitled 'Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU!'
Another that provided appropriate psychotherapy when necessary.'THE ENCHANTED SELF, a Positive Therapy'
Books for girls, tweens and teens such as 'The Truth Diary of a Gutsy Tween', 'Secrets, Diary of a Gutsy Teen' and 'Conflict and a Bit of Magic'
Easy Read Books on Happiness such as 'Seven Gateways to Happiness: Freeing Your Enchanted Self'
And a book discussing the Spiritual Pathway to Happiness, 'Delight, There Comes a Time in Every Woman's Life for Delight!'
ROMANCE AND FICTION NOVELS
Dr. Holstein understands that not everyone is attuned to the same type of learning experience. For many, a good novel opens a new window in one's world. For others a more technical case book brings to light issues that the person then goes on to explore, and perhaps include in her life. For still others, short stories with followup activities bring people to new insights and motivation. Dr. Holstein has chosen to offer the public all three types of motivational reading material.
Her technical book about positive psychology: THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy, takes a case study approach to learning about how to bring joy into our own lives and make good decisions. Often taken from her own life, the case studies capture so much of daily living and problems along with how people made decisions that took them beyond where they had been. Also at the end of each chapter is an exercise for the reader to do, to move along a positive growth spectrum herself.
Dr. Holstein has also written a book of short stories: 'Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU'. In this book of stories, many written by herself and a number of other contributors, readers quickly see how you can value yourself more and more as you read experiences by others and see how the right decisions and self respect led them into new worlds of purpose, meaning and happiness. Once again, an exercise at the end of each chapter helps readers on their way to living what she calls a life of enchantment.
For those who love a good romantic and exciting novel, Dr. Holstein has written a series of books, 'Around Every Corner, Romance and Mystery'. In these books readers get to know Natalie and Maggie as they move into circles they never expected, in Israel, India, England and more. Mystery, love interests, adventures, and more fill the pages.
FILMS:
Other paths she has taken as a positive psychologist include a stage play titled "The Locket". She has written, directed and produced a wide variety of cutting edge films, based on all of the same principles. The pathway with her films is often very different. Stories are experienced in just a few minutes yet can make a very strong impact. Her films have won numerous awards, placements and have been selected around the world at film festivals, over 100 times as of 2021.
Some examples of her films include 'The Truth, a Short Film', in which a young girl shares from the depths of her heart her frustrations, hurts, joys and delight with the audience. Because she has done her own filming of herself as she talks into her smart phone there is an immediacy and connection with the view achieved that might have taken many hours in a book or perhaps never achieved in another type of film where the crew is always around the actress. This style of film making has been called Selfie Films. It is a technique Dr. Holstein has developed - one that is particularly successful at connecting audiences with young actors.
Another Selfie Film is 'Falling in Love, A Coming of Age Selfie Film'. The Selfie smartphone technique made this film a winner at film festivals and brought tears of laughter and discussions of feelings for the many of the viewers. It is a great film to share with family members of different ages and stages of life.
THE SELFIE PROJECT:
Always thinking about how to give people a voice, one of her films 'The Selfie Project' is a good example of her continued outreach. This film, a documentary, demonstrates how youngsters can share their feelings, attitudes, concerns and hopes for solutions, utilizing two important methods. They can produce their own selfie films where they share what is on their mind. Then in round table fashion with youngsters and experts they can share potential solutions to problems.
Her ongoing work with THE SELFIE PROJECT includes podcasts and selfie films in which youngsters share their feelings, ideas and solutions about critical subjects such as the Pandemic and the environment.
All of us need tools and resources to try to stay uplifted. Dr. Holstein continues to develop never or seldom seen before such as Vella novels, her first being: 'MORE SECRETS MORE MAGIC' designed to engage the audience while the characters demonstrate resilience,confidence and healthy emotions, scripts based on positive psychology work with couples presented as zoom drama performances, filmed in various locations simultaneously via Zoom. Three performances are available on her Vimeo channel, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. These include 'Life is Complicated', 'I Had an Affair or did I?' and 'I Had an Affair with my Husband'. All touch upon the emotional needs and frustrations of being in a relationship.
Dr. Holstein hopes to continue with many more inventive ways of helping kids and adults everywhere enjoy good mental health, purpose and meaning in their lives.
OTHER MEDIA
Dr. Holstein has taken very seriously finding as many ways as possible to enlighten the public about happiness, purpose and meaning in everyday life. To do this she has created ways to use the media. Some of the ways are conventional such as a newsletter which she had started in 1996 for many years. Also many radio shows over the years where she invited public and private people on her shows to discuss their own lives and reflect on many positive psychology methods to better one's life. The Enchanted Self radio show out of Phoenix, Arizona ran for many years and had people as famous as Chicken soup authors and as less known as a taxi driver who shared amazing stories about his passengers.
Some were less conventional, such as the 3 zoom dramas she directed and created when the Pandemic ruled out taking the same three scripts and producing 3 short films. Instead actors each in their own homes joined together for 25 to 30 minute dramas that taught through the magic of drama important messages about relationships and coupling. The three zoom dramas are now on Vimeo, RoKu and Amazon Fire. They are titled: 'Life is Complicated; 'I had an Affair with my Husband,: and I had an Affair or did I?'
Dr. Holstein has also reached out to the world with her positive psychology teachings via podcasts. Guests on her podcasts include many young people, educators, parents, environmental specialists, victims of school lockdowns, and more. Podcasts are up on many sites such as soundcloud and YouTube. Her Project The Selfie Project often involves these podcasts where young people are given a chance to share their ideas, thoughts, worries, desires, and solutions with experts, teachers, and many others.
Dr. Holstein has also written a spiritual book, 'There comes a time in Every Woman's Life for DELIGHT.' This book takes the reader through some of Dr. Holstein's spiritual growth, all the while helping the reader go along her own path.
More information on the above can be found at the following links:
WEBSITE ADDRESSES:
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FILMS AND AWARDS
Lock Down:
International Shorts November 2019, Selected November 2019
Tokyo Film Awards - Gold Winner - Best Director
Award Winner for Independent Shorts Awards: Trailer/Teaser and Children's Short May 2019
L.A. Shorts Award Selected for June, 2019
Independent Star Fest Film Festival selected to be shown early July in Germany
Rome Independent Prisma Awards, selected for June, 2019
Rocky Mountain International Film Festival, 2019
Hollywood Sun Awards, Finalist on line competition for July, August, 2019
Best Global Shorts Festival in Chennal, India
Global Indie Film Fest Selected
MP Film Award Selected
Munich Film Awards
Rocky Mountain International Film Festival Finalist
Hollywood Sun Awards Selected
IndieX Film Fest Selected
Hot Springs International Women's Film Festival Selected
LA Shorts Awards Selected Selected
Independent-Star Filmfest Munich Selected
Rome Independent Prisma Awards Selected
Independent Shorts Awards Award Winner
Independent Shorts Awards Award Winner
IndieX Film Fest Selected
Madrid International Film Festival - Selected
Lock Down Trailer
Diamond Award at the LA Shorts Film Festival
The Truth A Short Film:
Garden State Film Festival Premier - Best Pop Song 2016
Golden Door Int. Film Festival - Official Selection - September 2016
Grove Film Festival - Showing - May 2017
Female Filmmakers Film Festival - Official Selection - 12th of 92 films
Roselle Park Shorts Film Festival - Official Selection - September 2017
52 Weeks Film Festival April, 2019 Semi-Finalist
FilmOneFest Premier - July 2016
Chain Film Festival - Official Selection - August 2016
Jersey City Int. Television and Film Festival - Official Selection - November 2016
Hang On To Your Shorts Film Festival - Official Selection- May 2017
Rocky Mountain International Film Festival, 2019
MP Film Award - Selected
Independent Shorts Awards - Award Winner
Indie Short Fest - Finalist
IndieX Film Fest - Finalist
Best Global Shorts - Selected
Rocky Mountain International Film Festival - Finalist
52 Weeks Film Festival - Semi-Finalist
Roselle Park Short Film Festival - Selected
Grove Film Festival - Selected
Female Filmmakers Film Festival - Selected
Golden Door International Film Festival - Selected
Tagore International Film Festival - Award Winner
Secrets A Coming Of Age Selfie Film:
Alice Guy-Blache Women In Cinema Award - Nomination - October 2017, Golden Door International Film Festival
NewFilmmakers, Manhattan- Official Selection, January 24, 2018
Brightside Tavern Shorts Fest Film Series - Best Experimental Film nomination - March 2018
Brightside Tavern Shorts Fest Film Series - Best New Jersey Short nomination - March 2018
Brightside Tavern Shorts Fest Film Series - Best Concept nomination - March 2018
Hang on To Your Shorts, Official Selection - April 2018, Nominated for Best New Jersey Drama and Best Experimental Film
Awarded: Best Educational Film Award at the Jersey Shore Film Festival, August, 2018
Shown March 1 1018 as one of 6 outstanding women’s films at the Behane Center in Jersey City, for Women’s History Month by Golden Door International Film Festival.
Brightside Tavern Film Festival, Season 7 - Best Experimental Film - March 2018
Jersey Shore Film Festival - Best Educational Film - August 2018
Indie Awards - Award of Recognition in 3 categories: Women Filmmakers, Leading Actress and Educational / Instruction / Training
The IndieFest Film Awards - Selected
Golden Door International Film Festival - Selected
IndieX Film Fest - Award winner
Best Global Shorts - Award Winner
Independent Shorts Awards - Award Winner
Indie Short Fest - Semi Finalist
Independent Talents International Film Festive - Semi Finalist
Falling In Love A Coming Of Age Selfie Film:
Brightside Tavern Film Festival-March 2017- Best Experimental Film Nomination, Second Place Award as Best New Jersey Film Short
Grove Film Festival, Official Selection-May 2017
Hang On To Your Shorts Film Festival - Best Experimental Film nomination - May 2017
Hang On To Your Shorts Film Festival - Best Concept Film nomination - May 2017
Hang On To Your Shorts Film Festival - Megan Brown Rising Star Award - May 2017
Love Shorts Film Festival - Official Selection - February 2018
Special Mention Award - One-Reeler Short Film Competition
MP Film Award Selected
Marina del Rey Film Festival® Selected
ARFF Amsterdam // International Awards Selected
NYC Indie Film Awards Selected
LA Shorts Awards Selected
International Women's Film Festival Selected
Best Global Shorts Selected
International Shorts Selected
"Hang on to Your Shorts!" Film Festival Selected
Global Monthly Online Film Competition Award Winner
Point Of View Indie Film Awards Award Winner
Independent Shorts Awards Award Winner
New York Movie Awards Award Winner
Florence Film Awards Award Winner
IndieX Film Fest Finalist
Indie Short Fest Finalist
Florence Film Awards Finalist
Indie Short Fest Finalist
New York Cinematography AWARDS (NYCA) Semi-Finalist
Truth is Stranger Than Fiction:
Paris Women's Festival
Detaron TV - Finalist
Best Cinematography Award - Finalist
Milan Gold - Award winner
Silver Mask Live Festival - Award winner
Film Today - Selected
Fullshot Cine Mag Fest - Selected
Independent Shorts Awards - Finalist
Independent Shorts Awards - Finalist
New York Movie Awards - Finalist
Port Blair International Film Festival - Award Winner
Accord Cine Fest - Award Winner
52 Weeks Film Festival - Award Winner
New York Movie Awards - Award Winner
One-Reeler Short Film Competition - Award Winner
Florence Film Awards - Award Winner
Euro Film Festival Geneva - Selected
Madras Independent Film Festival - Selected
Southeast Regional Film Festival - Selected
Aryan International Children's Film Festival of Jaipur INDIA - Selected
Hollywood Film Competition - Selected
Amsterdam World International Film Festival - Selected
MP Film Award - Selected
Jersey Shore Film Festival - Selected
The Brightside Film Festival - Selected
Hollywood Film Competition - Selected
LA Shorts Awards - Selected
LA Edge Film Awards - Selected
Rome Independent Prisma Awards - Selected
Best Global Shorts - Selected
"Hang on to Your Shorts!" Film Festival - Selected
Golden Door International Film Festival - Selected
CineX Independent Film Festival - Selected
Great Lakes State Film Festival - Selected
Indie Short Fest - Selected
NewFilmmakers NY - Selected
Life Is Complicated:
Indie Short Fest - Semi-Finalist
Hollywood Gold Awards - Selected
IndieX Film Fest- Semi-Finalist
Independent Shorts Awards - Finalist
Lonely Wolf 2022 International Film Festival London - Semi Finalist
Truths Change And Still Remain:
IndieX Film Fest - Selected
IndieX Film Fest - Selected
Independent Shorts Awards - Award Winner
Independent Shorts Awards - Award Winner
Indie Short Fest - Nominee
Indie Short Fest - Nominee
Conflict:
Official selection to premiere at the New Jersey International Film Festival at Rutgers University on June 9th, 2018
Semi-finalist in the JELLY Fest Film Festival, June, 2018
Official Selection Golden Door International Film Festival - September 2018
Honorable Mention Award: One-Reeler Short Film Competition
"Hang on to Your Shorts!" Film Festival March 9, 2019 Selected
Roselle Park Short Film Festival September 9, 2018 Selected
The Brightside Film Festival June 28, 2018 Selected
Angst:
Official Selection for the Brightside Tavern Film Festival in early August, 2018
Selfie:
Thinking Hat Fiction Challenge - Award Winner
Official selection at the One Minute Film Fest, Teaneck, New Jersey, September 8, 2018
The Medium, A Coming of Age, Selfie Film:
Selected to be screened at the Young Filmmakers's Screenings in Manhattan in early March, 2019.
Selected to be screened at Brightside Tavern Film Festival, March 3, 2019. Megan Brown nominated for Best Actress.
The Medium, A Coming of Age, Selfie Film:
Selected to be screened at the Young Filmmakers's Screenings in Manhattan in early March, 2019.
Selected to be screened at Brightside Tavern Film Festival, March 3, 2019. Megan Brown nominated for Best Actress.
The Selfie Project Pilot:
Independent Shorts Award - Certificate of Achievement Los Angeles, December 2018
Global Indian Film Festival - Selected for screening - Mumbai India, January 2019
Best Shorts Competition - Awards of Recognition - The Selfie Project Educational/Instructional/Training
Independent Talents International Film Festival- Semi-Finalist
Screened at Brightside Tavern Film Festival, March 3, 2019. Awarded for Best Concept for a Film.
Selected to be screened at the Northeast Mountain Film Festival 2020
Selected to be screened at Hang On To Your Shorts Film Festival in Asbury Park on May 5th 2019 and up for the Best Documentary Award.
Rome Independent Prisma Awards May 7, 2019 Selected
Global Film Festival Awards April 12, 2019 Selected
Dumbo Film Festival March 7, 2019 Selected
The Brightside Tavern Film Festival January 30, 2019 Selected and Awarded Best Concept Film
Global Indian Film Festival January 4, 2019 Selected
Ramsgate International Film & TV Festival Julu, 2019 Selected
Independent Shorts Awards December 16, 2018 Selected
Northeast Mountain Film Festival May 7, 2019 Selected
Rome Independent Prisma Awards, selected for June, 2019
Selected for On-Line Screening Competition WRPN.TV Global Webisode Competition
Selected for Direct Online Film Festival, July, 2019
Selected to screen online, during Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival 2019! Voted one of the top ten films.
Conflict and a Bit of Magic, A Coming of Age, Selfie Film:
Stardust Films and Screenplays Festival - Selected
MP Film Award - Selected
Independent Shorts Awards - Finalist
Best Global Shorts - Selected
Indie X Film Fest - Selected
Best Shorts Competition - Selected
The Oaks International Film Festival - Finalist
Stardust Films and Screenplays Festival - Selected
Golden Door International Film Festival - Selected
The Norwegian International Seagull Shortfilms - Finalist
6th International Short Film Festival
Screened at 52 Weeks Film Festival
Semi-finalist 52 weeks Film Festival
Global Film Festival Awards, January 2019; Award Winner
Winner for Best Indie Filmmaker: Barbara Becker Holstein; Winner for Best Young Actor: Megan Brown
Independent Talents International Film Festival, Semi-Finalist
Rome Independent Prisma Awards, May 7, 2019 Selected
Jersey Shore Film Festival, June 2019 Selected, Honorable Mention for Innovative Filmmaking
Selected for the Golden Door International Film Festival, 2019
Award of Recognition: Children / Family Programming in the June, 2019 Best Shorts Competition
Selected to be screened at the Northeast Mountain Film Festival 2020
I Had An Affair - Or Did I?:
FilmHaus - Selected
Lonely Wolf International Film Festival - Selected
New York Movie Awards - Selected
Redwood Shorts & Scripts - Award winner
Silver Mask Live Festival - Award winner
Reale Film Festival - Award winner
Hang on to Your Shorts Film Festival - Finalist
International Film Festival of Andaman - Finalist
Independent Shorts Awards - Finalist
IndieX Film Fest - Nominee
Gold Star Movie Awards - Honorable Mention
Prague International Film Awards - Honorable Mention
Prague International Monthly Film Festival - Honorable Mention
Hollywood Gold Awards - Award Winner
Best Script Award - Award Winner
I Had An Affair With My Husband:
Watch Out International Film Festival - Honorable Mention
Around Every Corner - Part 1:
Palms Springs Shorts - Semi-finalist
Oakland Awards - Nominee
Best Script Award London - Selected
Delight
Palms Springs Shorts - Semi-finalist
Do Dreams Come True?
New York Tri-State International Film Festival - Honorable Mention
Pacific International Film Festival - Selected
Iconic Images Film Festival - Selected
New York Tri-State International Film Festival - Honorable Mention
Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift - Semi-Finalist
TAIWAN INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL - Award Winner
Anatolia International Film Festival - Award Winner
International Motion Picture Festival of India - Award Winner
New York Istanbul Short Film Festival - Selected
Gold Star Movie Awards - Selected
Stardust Films and Screenplays Festival - Award Winner
Around International Film Awards - Semi Finalist
International Film Festival of Bangok - Award Winner
Triloka International Filmfare Awards - Award Winner
ARFF Paris - Semi Finalist
Kumari International Film Festival - Award Winner
Fox International Film Festival - Selected
BOOKS
Seven Ways to Help Your Family Recover From the Pandemic
Conflict and a Bit of Magic
Secrets: Diary of a Gutsy Teen
The Truth: Diary of a Gutsy Tween
The Truth: I'm A Girl, I'm Smart and I Know Everything
Secrets: You Tell Me Yours, I'll Tell You Mine - Maybe
Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU!
THE ENCHANTED SELF, a Positive Therapy
Seven Gateways to Happiness: Freeing Your Enchanted Self
Delight, There Comes a Time in Every Woman's Life for Delight!
A Selfie Film: Falling In Love
Next Year In Jerusalem: Around Every Corner, Mystery and Romance
Next Year In Jerusalem: Romance, Mystery and Spiritual Awakenings
STAGE PLAYS
The Locket
Dr. Holstein has also brought her extensive psychological and coming of age material to the world via a staged play called 'The Locket' based on her two books for girls, 'The Truth' and 'Secrets'. Both books tell in diary form the struggles and successes a girl goes through as she becomes a tween and then a teen. When Dr. Holstein turned the books into a play and added a character who is "the girl" as a grownup. This allowed the play version to make clear how wise and helpful people can be even when they are just growing up.